Intel, Nokia tout MeeGo as inclusive alternative to Android

During a panel at LinuxCon, representatives of Intel and Nokia discussed the …

During the annual LinuxCon conference last week in Boston, Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin moderated a discussion panel about the Linux-based MeeGo platform with Nokia's MeeGo Ecosystem Development head Thomas Miller and Intel open source technologist Derek Speed. During the panel, Miller and Speed discussed some of the technical and logistical characteristics that differentiate MeeGo from other mobile platforms.

The MeeGo project was launched earlier this year when Intel and Nokia brought together their respective mobile Linux platforms in a combined effort to reduce fragmentation and offer device vendors a standardized platform. The MeeGo platform is endorsed by the Linux Foundation, which has taken on a stewardship role with the aim of facilitating collaboration around the software. Although the underlying software components on which MeeGo is based are relatively mature and functional, the convergence process is still ongoing.

During the panel, Miller told the audience that Nokia is preparing to launch its first MeeGo device this year. He declined to provide specific details about the form factor, but he said that the product will be distinctive and will offer an interesting user experience.

Miller also said that the device will be open, in the sense that users will theoretically be able to modify the software. That could potentially make it very useful for third-party MeeGo platform developers who want a reference hardware environment for prototyping MeeGo platform customizations.

According to the panelists, one of the key advantages of MeeGo is that it will allow multiple vendors to participate in the development process from an early stage and have continuous access to the source code. Indeed, the MeeGo development process is much more inclusive than that of alternatives like Google's Android platform.

Inclusive from the get-go

As we have pointed out on several occasions in the past, Google tends to develop major new versions of Android in secret and will only disclose the improvements after a product has been launched with the new version. Google's practice of giving its launch partners privileged access puts other vendors—including some in Google's Open Handset Alliance—at a disadvantage.

MeeGo keeps everything out in the open so that other participants in the platform's technology ecosystem don't get excluded. Another advantage of MeeGo is that the platform is largely built with native code and is closely aligned with both the upstream Linux kernel and conventional desktop Linux stack. This significantly increases code portability, while lessening constraints on how application developers can write software for the platform.

Miller and Speed both emphasized the importance of allowing developers to choose from a diverse assortment of tools and programming languages. Nokia's Qt development toolkit is going to be the default framework for ISVs that want to build software for the MeeGo platform, but there are a number of other options available, too.

Qt bindings will make it possible to build MeeGo software with dynamic scripting languages, for example. Miller also talked about the Web runtime that Nokia is planning to make available, which will allow developers to build extremely portable applications with HTML5 and other Web technologies. He says that the Web runtime will make it possible to break out of the browser and build a truly integrated experience that can seamlessly be deployed across MeeGo devices without requiring compilation.

Another area where they view think that choice is important is the distribution channel. There won't be one universal application store for MeeGo—there will be many, which means that developers will have some choice about how their applications are sold to users. The downside is that developers will have to work with multiple distributors if they want to get their software to the widest number of users.

Miller said that Nokia intends to continue developing its own OVI store, but he acknowledged some of the problems that OVI has suffered in the past. Building an application store from scratch is "hell," he told the audience. Speed explained that Intel's AppUp service will make it easier for downstream distributors like OEMs to build their own branded storefronts for making applications and content available to end users.

Although MeeGo still has yet to prove itself on actual hardware, the underlying technology seems promising and the project's governance model could be attractive to vendors who are looking for a more open and inclusive environment than some of the existing alternatives. The panel at LinuxCon provided some insight into how Intel and Nokia view the strengths of the platform and what aspects of its openness they view as the most important.

I don't understand Ars' stance that MeeGo is a serious contender. It can be because it is a Linux-based platform with mulitple wireless giants supporting it, because that was LiMo, and I don't see much clamoring to get into LiMo these days. It can't be because of this "open" platform, because we all know there's a huge difference between it being *possible* for users to modify the source code and install onto their devices and actually being *allowed* to do that by device manufacturers who have to differentiate their products and therefore will certainly add locks to prevent you from going too far (else you can cut them out of their revenue stream from preloaded apps, etc).

The reality of the smartphone game today is that if you don't have an app store that all users know they can reliably go to and find all apps relative for the *platform*, you have a mess. No one will take seriously a nokia meego app store and a verizon one and a ... one, all with some subset of the full catalog. Not with iOS, Android, Blackberry, Win7 to choose from. This fractured app store is no benefit; it's a devastating weakness.

Nokia is a joke in the United States right now. Verizon Wireless, the nations largest wireless carrier, does not carry a single Nokia handset. I question the timeline surrounding a project like this. It took Android OS devices over two years to gain substantial market share and Apple is rumored to begin selling the iPhone on other carriers as early as next year. While I welcome new smartphone technology I find it hard that this platform will be a serious contender in the market place if and when it is released.

You are absolutely correct about the app stores. Android has taken over two years to gain market share and it only boasts 70,000+ apps. Nokia will be hard pressed to gain market share for a long time coming when it releases this platform. With the popularity of Android and Apple I dont see many developers jumping ship to develop for this platform.

There were a few things that struck me during the Meego sessions at LinuxCon. The first was how they were handling their different User Experiences (mobile, netbook, car, etc). In the Meego community session it was stated that an app written for one wouldn't look good on the others. I'm not sure what that will really mean, I should spend some time with the SDK to find out, but it didn't sound promissing.

The second was that in order to run Meego on a netbook, you have to have an Intel video card. They use interfaces that, while open, are only implemented for their graphics chips in the kernel to do their effects. It also prevents you from running Meego in an emulator, and they specifically have to work on a stripped down version for that later this year. There was frustration in the audience with this, as well with the broken track record for open that Intel has with the GMA950 driver (or lack thereof). The software team said they didn't have the authority to force the hardware team to open drivers, which wasn't comforting.

It also surprised me that the SDK is going to be C++ and Qt. That seemed like a big step backwards in this day and age. Having developed in a lot of environments, I quite like a lot of what Google did with Dalvik, and the declarative interface model. Yes, I'd still rather be programming in Ruby, but that environment made me actually appreciate some of the strengths that Java has to offer.

The Meego folks did use the dust up around the Google kernel patches for wakelocks to wave the flag of open. But it's really easy to do that with no product out there that you have to ship. Having been a Nokia 770 owner, and the experience that came with that product in terms of openness, I remain skeptical. A year from now we'll know a lot better how this effort will run.

I think that the fact that Android took 2 years to get 70k + apps proves that MeeGo could be up and running with a decent amount of apps within 12 months. How many Twitter clients do you need?

If - as stated in the article - MeeGo "is closely aligned with both the upstream Linux kernel and conventional desktop Linux stack. This significantly increases code portability" development time could be quicker than say the iPhone had at launch.

As stated before, I cant really see the incentive for handset manufactures to use MeeGo in its early stages. Company's jumped onto Android as they had no other option, until MeeGo is established then its going to be Nokia all on its own, not that that is necessarily a bad thing.

There was frustration in the audience with this, as well with the broken track record for open that Intel has with the GMA950 driver (or lack thereof). The software team said they didn't have the authority to force the hardware team to open drivers, which wasn't comforting.

It's not that the Intel software team can't force the intel hardware team to open it up. The problem is that the GPU is 3rd party IP and without any other serious contenders for a high end mobile GPU Intel doesn't have any leverage to force them to open the driver code. In the mid-term I suspect the best we can hope is that Intel's contract with the GPU company requires them to keep the binaries patched and compatible with new kernels on a near real-time basis.

i currently own a nokia smartphone E75. i was sucked into their marketing w/ the OVI app store. FAIL!!

their shitty app store is 2nd only to their asstastic customer service (forums, contacts, etc). i will never again own a nokia and i definitely do not buy into their bullshit about meego being any good either.

Given how eager handset manufacturers and service providers are to chain an endless expanse of crapware to our devices, I don't consider it a good thing to have them involved in the development process from the beginning. And considering crappy software has been Nokia's bane for years now, I don't hold much hope that all of a sudden they don't suck at making software anymore.

My guess would be the hardware. The hard requirement for the GPU appears to mean that it's only intended for the Moorestown platform which, assuming that the power management is up to par will give a much higher baseline performance level in a mobile platform. The latter is a bit of an unknown since the previews we've seen so far only showed idle power and peak CPU performance but not any real world battery life testing.

Scriptable GUI interfaces are all well and good but I'd take JIT over them every day. JIT code (like Java or .NET) performs nearly as well as native (better if the native programmers aren't very good) and is easier to develop. Scripting languages like Python, Perl and Ruby all perform several factors of magnitude worse than JITed code.

(Interestingly enough, the video is "no longer available due to a copyright claim by nokia corporation. Maybe if you google you can find the video. But again, it is pretty slick.)

Part of the strength of Meego is that it is designed for use in phones, tablets, netbooks, tv set-top boxes, in-car systems, etc. BMW (or mercedes - can't remember, again - google it) has already committed to adopt this technology for their in-car systems.

But I agree with your point about the app store being the key. User interfaces are becoming mature enough now that they won't be the deal makers or deal breakers, but the infrastructure around 3rd party app support will. For example, the Palm Pre's webos looked really slick, but it didn't really take off much with developers. The iPhone os used to be king of touch-screen-only cell phone interface, but now with android, win7 upcoming release, improved blackberry touchscreen os, palm webos (will we see any new hp phones with this os??), symbian touch screen... The iphone os has lost its "king of the hill" status and is simply another professional good quality touch screen interface. The app stores have become the differentiators, and also the form factors (ie: not everyone wants a touch screen only interface - many like the blackberry "always available" keys, many like horizontal sliding qwerty, etc).

Strong and intelligent marketing to entice 3rd party app developers to make software for the platform is key. As another poster points out, we'll find out in a year or so how well nokia's handset meego platform fares. I for one am very excited about the platform and hope to pick up a nokia meego phone once available. (Right now, I use a nokia e51 symbian s60 and it is pretty darn spectacular.)

And considering crappy software has been Nokia's bane for years now, I don't hold much hope that all of a sudden they don't suck at making software anymore.

Huh...??? Symbian is the number 1 worldwide smartphone platform. Only the North America-centric people think any different.

As in my other post, I have a symbian nokia phone and it rocks!! Just installed google maps. Search by voice is spectacular.

A fellow from middle east visited me the other day and he had some sort of fancy new (non-North America) Nokia touchscreen (maybe N8??). He couldn't find my home, then he used nokia's OVI maps to find it no problem - NOT google maps. Really, nokia's software is very powerful - low processor/memory overhead, stable, good 3rd party app availability. Not to be critical, but I don't think you really know what you are talking about, and you suggest that your head is looking only at North America, and more likely, only the United States.

The funny thing is that MeeGo, Windows Phone 7 and Android will all be competing with each other, with the iOS off to the side.

Even though Windows phone 7 is not open like MeeGo or Andriod it will only appeal to Apple haters which fall into the MeeGo and Andriod camps anyway. Whatever HP comes up with WebOS will fall along the same lines, or flight it out with MeeGo and Andriod in a direct competition for the OPEN title.

The more competitors the more it will divided up the non-Apple space, thus weakening them overall. People who want an iPhone or vertical solution like an iPhone, will just get an iPhone. I doubt Android has much of any impact on the iPhone. I would attribute 95% of Android's growth world-wide to simple market expansion and about 30% of its growth in the US due to AT&T. Once the iPhone goes Verzion most of that will be drained away back into the iPhone camp.

It can be because it is a Linux-based platform with mulitple wireless giants supporting it, because that was LiMo, and I don't see much clamoring to get into LiMo these days.

No one in the open source community can participate in LiMo, seeing as how it was built from the ground up to be proprietary and you have to put up $20K just to access the code.

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It can't be because of this "open" platform, because we all know there's a huge difference between it being *possible* for users to modify the source code and install onto their devices and actually being *allowed* to do that by device manufacturers who have to differentiate their products and therefore will certainly add locks to prevent you from going too far (else you can cut them out of their revenue stream from preloaded apps, etc).

Well it's why I'm putting effort into it. Certainly, everything else is not open to community input. Nokia at least sells directly to end users and offers the ability to load custom versions (without jailbreaking/rooting/doing strange hacks.)

The Meego project creates the meego platform. It is open and free. Then any handset, tv-box, in-car system, tablet, netbook maker can take the platform and tailor it (through any combination of free and proprietary software) to their own specifications - including UI tweaks/modifications, addition of proprietary "paid for" 3rd party media codecs, etc, etc, etc.

So, the design by committee is just for the underlying technology - the "chassis" of the car, so-to-speak - and then the seats, steering wheel, shape, etc. of the car is to be finished off by the OEM.

Huh...??? Symbian is the number 1 worldwide smartphone platform. Only the North America-centric people think any different.

As in my other post, I have a symbian nokia phone and it rocks!! Just installed google maps. Search by voice is spectacular.

A fellow from middle east visited me the other day and he had some sort of fancy new (non-North America) Nokia touchscreen (maybe N8??). He couldn't find my home, then he used nokia's OVI maps to find it no problem - NOT google maps. Really, nokia's software is very powerful - low processor/memory overhead, stable, good 3rd party app availability. Not to be critical, but I don't think you really know what you are talking about, and you suggest that your head is looking only at North America, and more likely, only the United States.

This.

Granted, Nokia used to release half-baked firmwares. Hopefully with the single-digit series they stop doing that.

That said, my E72 (firmware 031) is as good as it can be. It has all the features I need and some I don't need, with a price of 350 USD without any effing contracts. After I link my Gmail account and my office email, it's everything I need to work outside the office.

Even though Windows phone 7 is not open like MeeGo or Andriod it will only appeal to Apple haters which fall into the MeeGo and Andriod camps anyway. Whatever HP comes up with WebOS will fall along the same lines, or flight it out with MeeGo and Andriod in a direct competition for the OPEN title.

No, you (and many like you) just DON'T get it. Many people don't HATE the iPhone, but they just want a phone with a different form factor!!! Touchscreen only with 5 buttons is NOT everyone's choice for a cellphone.

Plus, the fact that to use the AppStore on the iPhone, you MUST have an apple or windows computer in order to install iTunes to create an account, and you MUST give your credit card to make said account, EVEN IF you only want to download FREE software. Doesn't make sense, does it??

Then the fact that sent email encoding cannot be chosen... So, with Japanese, sent emails are encoded only in UTF-8, meaning that most people using windows computers cannot read the emails (because the software won't auto-read the UTF-8 japanese encoding). So it means the iPhone is NOT appropriate for certain business users.

A person doesn't have to hate the iPhone to decide it is not the right choice for him/her.

And considering crappy software has been Nokia's bane for years now, I don't hold much hope that all of a sudden they don't suck at making software anymore.

Huh...??? Symbian is the number 1 worldwide smartphone platform. Only the North America-centric people think any different.

Symbian is nr. 1 worlwide, but it's still crap. Just because it happens to be popular, does not mean that it's actually good.

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As in my other post, I have a symbian nokia phone and it rocks!!

I have Nokia E72, and it's utter crap. E61 (that I had before it) was crap as well. The UI and software is clunky and crappy. Using the device feels like blast from the past when compared to lies of Android or iOS.

Sure, it wasn't this bad before. But when iPhone hit the scene I understood what the software could be like. So Symbian went overnight from "OK" to "utter crap". Apple did an excellent job in showing just how crappy mobile-phone software was.

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A fellow from middle east visited me the other day and he had some sort of fancy new (non-North America) Nokia touchscreen (maybe N8??). He couldn't find my home, then he used nokia's OVI maps to find it no problem - NOT google maps. Really, nokia's software is very powerful - low processor/memory overhead, stable, good 3rd party app availability.

And it's still crap. It's clumsy and clunky. It looks and feels like direct continuation from the software they shipped on their phones back in 1998.

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Not to be critical, but I don't think you really know what you are talking about, and you suggest that your head is looking only at North America, and more likely, only the United States.

Nokia's market-share is going down the drain worldwide. Only reason they managed to hold on to the share that they currently have is because they sold their phones at rock-bottom price.

As to the comments about "why is Meego a contender?". Well, it's backed by biggest cell-phone manufacturer in the world an biggest CPU-manufacturer in the world. That does give it some credibility.

And considering crappy software has been Nokia's bane for years now, I don't hold much hope that all of a sudden they don't suck at making software anymore.

Huh...??? Symbian is the number 1 worldwide smartphone platform. Only the North America-centric people think any different.

Symbian is nr. 1 worlwide, but it's still crap. Just because it happens to be popular, does not mean that it's actually good.

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As in my other post, I have a symbian nokia phone and it rocks!!

I have Nokia E72, and it's utter crap. E61 (that I had before it) was crap as well. The UI and software is clunky and crappy. Using the device feels like blast from the past when compared to lies of Android or iOS.

Sure, it wasn't this bad before. But when iPhone hit the scene I understood what the software could be like. So Symbian went overnight from "OK" to "utter crap". Apple did an excellent job in showing just how crappy mobile-phone software was.

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A fellow from middle east visited me the other day and he had some sort of fancy new (non-North America) Nokia touchscreen (maybe N8??). He couldn't find my home, then he used nokia's OVI maps to find it no problem - NOT google maps. Really, nokia's software is very powerful - low processor/memory overhead, stable, good 3rd party app availability.

And it's still crap. It's clumsy and clunky. It looks and feels like direct continuation from the software they shipped on their phones back in 1998.

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Not to be critical, but I don't think you really know what you are talking about, and you suggest that your head is looking only at North America, and more likely, only the United States.

Nokia's market-share is going down the drain worldwide. Only reason they managed to hold on to the share that they currently have is because they sold their phones at rock-bottom price.

As to the comments about "why is Meego a contender?". Well, it's backed by biggest cell-phone manufacturer in the world an biggest CPU-manufacturer in the world. That does give it some credibility.

Hardly worth replying-to. "Crap" is a subjective thing... For my business, even though the os is polished and shiny, iPhone is "crap" due to "crappy" (deficient) mail functionality.

Nokia's sales are not slowing, and I don't believe one iota that "the only reason they managed to hold onto the share ..." is due to their dumping phones at "rock-bottom" price. Truth is, the iPhone innovated a new form factor (device/touch-os) and then android and other os's are following with similar devices. This is a GROWING market. It seems like Nokia, with Meego, is also trying their best to target this growing market, while at the same time continuing their successful global sales of symbian smartphones.

You are allowed to be an iPhone fanbois. I am truly glad that you found a solution that works for you. However, because it is your solution, don't project onto others that the same solution is best for them.

Only time will tell whether meego succeeds or not, and its success or failure will not be dependent upon your personal negativity ("crap") or my openness to it.

Sure, some deranged individuals might think that Symbian is the bees knees, but it's still crap. You only need to compare it to Android/iOS for 5 minutes to see that.

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Nokia's sales are not slowing

Their market-share is going down, that is a fact. They used to grow fast, but not anymore. They are not keeping up with the overall growth of the market.

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and I don't believe one iota that "the only reason they managed to hold onto the share ..." is due to their dumping phones at "rock-bottom" price.

It tells that only way they could get people to buy their phones is to sell them cheap. They sure as hell can't do it with their crappy software.

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Truth is, the iPhone innovated a new form factor (device/touch-os)

iPhone wasn't really the first. It just happens that iPhone was the first smartphone that was actually usable. Nokia was pushing features that no-one wanted nor used, and their features were cumbersome and hard to use. Nokia believed that they can sell their phones with bulletpoints, when the thing that matters is usability and ease of use. And on those Nokia absolutely sucks.

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and then android and other os's are following with similar devices. This is a GROWING market.

Which Nokia is missing. And it's not about form-factor, it's about software, polish and usability. Nokia has always been engineer-driven company, which resulted in phones with zillion features that were so hard to use that no-one used them.

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It seems like Nokia, with Meego, is also trying their best to target this growing market, while at the same time continuing their successful global sales of symbian smartphones.

Symbian WAS a success. The only thing that keeps it alive today is inertia. According to Gartner, Symbian went from 51% market-share to 41.2% market-share in one year! That is absolutely humungous drop in market-share, and no-one could say that Symbian is "succesfull". Like I said, only thing that saved Symbian from utter annihilation is inertia. It managed to get huge lead years ago, but now that it has to really compete, it's crashing down fast.

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You are allowed to be an iPhone fanbois.

Ah yes. Whenever someone states the fact that iOS is better than Symbian, it just means that they are "fanbois". Very mature argument from you.

Besides, I also said that Android is better than Symbian.

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I am truly glad that you found a solution that works for you. However, because it is your solution, don't project onto others that the same solution is best for them.

Looking at how Symbian is faring in the market, it seems that other are leaving Symbian in droves.

Sure, some deranged individuals might think that Symbian is the bees knees, but it's still crap. You only need to compare it to Android/iOS for 5 minutes to see that.

Janne, I'll let others judge the quality of both your comments and mine. But I do believe that your scathing comments state more about yourself than they do about either iOS or Symbian.

This is my last reply to your comments, Janne. As I stated above, "hardly worth replying-to."

Have a good day, and please keep enjoying your iphone.

Its not suprising that Ars audience forgets about a huge market of people who only need a phone to make actual calls (and i bet worldwide that is an overwhelming majority). Include both of my parents in this as well.Their current phone (Moto Razor, the old one from few years ago) finally started dying, and it took forever to find a simple replacement phone - most phones in verizon store and online are smartphones, which require data plans, which my parents and many other people simply do not need.After searching Verizon site I finally found them Nokia Shade - its a simple phone with bluetooth support. Gave it to my mom (and ordered one more for my dad) and they love it - simple, efficient and fast. (Unlike my 3G that has been complete crap since 4.0 update even with spotlight search disabled, unfortunately my work requres me to have a smart phone - it also amazes me that so many people get these phones for single "hip" factor and never use most of the functionality, that is beyond stupid imo. Also people keep talking about apps this apps that - the majority of the apps in both android and apple store are silly games and "waste my time" apps. Pathetic really).

Nokia's sales are not slowing, and I don't believe one iota that "the only reason they managed to hold onto the share ..." is due to their dumping phones at "rock-bottom" price.

I used to abhor mobile phones; no matter whether it was a Nokia, Sony/Ericson or something else. They were so utterly badly designed from a software/UI point of view (I'm a GUI developer myself) that I hated using them.

When the iPhone was released it was a revelation (for me, at least): Finally someone actually had a clue about how to do a good UI in a small format. Now we have Android and WebOS as well, and when I try the Nokia smartphones I feel like I'm back in the stone age.

And all of this is of course a matter of personal feeling, although I suspect that I am not alone: Nokia's share of smartphone sales globally is going down, despite the fact that they are lowering the prices. Link:

In short, Apple's average smartphone price has gone slightly up the last year ($580 -> $595 from Q1 09 -> Q2 10), Nokia's down (€190 -> €143). So yes, Nokia are lowering their prices a lot, but they are still losing market share.

Nokia is a joke in the United States right now. Verizon Wireless, the nations largest wireless carrier, does not carry a single Nokia handset. I question the timeline surrounding a project like this. It took Android OS devices over two years to gain substantial market share and Apple is rumored to begin selling the iPhone on other carriers as early as next year. While I welcome new smartphone technology I find it hard that this platform will be a serious contender in the market place if and when it is released.

who the hell cares about america???!!!!! they're not the only market hell there not even the biggest. nokia has a 45% smartphone market share globally and they hold near monopolies in africa, south america and the middle east you know places where cell phone adoption is exploding. meego will do well because it already has an install base. look at the n900, that phone wasn't picked up by any american carieers and it sold millions of devices because nokia focused on china and europe.